Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Falling Away With You ❯ Chapter 8 ( Chapter 8 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Froglady15 
Anime/Manga: Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 07.18.2016 | Pages: 17 | Words: 10.9K | Visits: 378 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 07.18.2016 | Pages: 17 | Words: 10.9K | Visits: 378 | Status: Work In Progress
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Just my Husband,
laptop, my 3 dogs and a very overactive imagination… Dragon
Ball Z and any songs mentioned in this fic DO NOT belong to me. I'm
just borrowing them for my own twisted amusement.
Falling Away With You
Chapter 8
The next day after her discussion with Vegeta, Bulma thought long and hard about what she wanted to do with regards to Derek but couldn’t quite come up with a simple solution about it.
Yes, she told Vegeta she would break things off with him and she had meant it; if Vegeta wanted her, then she would end it without a second thought. However, Vegeta hadn’t told her what he wanted either. He hadn’t commented at all on the matter and so she decided that she wouldn’t put the kibosh on something potentially good for the guy who could not or would not commit to her.
“Why should I be the one doing all the work?” she muttered to herself as she finished getting dressed for the day. I told him that I wanted him and he still didn’t make a move.
She exited her bedroom and headed down to the kitchen. As usual, Trunks and Vegeta were outside in the yard doing their morning training ritual and she wondered if Trunks had asked him about why someone else had been holding her hand and why he never did. She chuckled silently to herself, wishing she could be around for that conversation just to see the look on his face and how he would respond to that.
Grabbing a breakfast muffin and her coffee, she exited the house without greeting either of them, thinking it was best to let them spend time together uninterrupted; especially after Vegeta had ditched Trunks yesterday at the amusement park.
Her day passed by uneventful. Sales were down at the moment due to an economic down turn but they were still steady and doing better than their competition so that was the main thing.
Derek was feeling better and she took the opportunity to apologise to him for Trunks’ rambunctious behaviour. He’d been surprisingly good about the whole thing and brushed it off as nothing for her to worry about as, kids will be kids. He also was really understanding about how this may be a very confusing time for Trunks and to just let him come around on his own.
The week passed by quickly. Bulma didn’t see much of Vegeta again this week; only in passing if she happened to be around when Trunks was awake and he hadn’t said much. She had managed to ask him if he was still thinking of taking Trunks away on a camping trip and he had only grunted and that was all she’d gotten out of him.
Friday evening finally rolled around and Bulma was getting ready to leave. She hadn’t exactly avoided Derek all week, but she had taken a few steps back and spent less time with him in order to revaluate what she should do. It was also a chance to make sure she was available so that Vegeta would hopefully notice and come talk to her after he’d had a few days to think about things himself.
He didn’t.
So she decided she would continue seeing Derek. Now that Vegeta knew about them, she felt more comfortable being open about it and maybe that would spur him into action and make him figure out what he really wanted. He hadn’t brought up anything or made any effort to prove it since their conversation on Sunday night, but she knew he wanted her. His indecision and way that he’d looked at her had told her so. So what is he waiting for? I’m not getting any younger!
She approached Derek once he had gotten off a call he had been on for a long while. She wasn’t sure who he was on with, but he seemed frustrated, which was very unlike him.
“You alright?” she asked cautiously. “What was that all about?”
Derek sighed and looked at her a moment. “You don’t want to know,”
“Sure I do!” she said, closing his door and sitting down.
He seemed to think about it a moment before starting. “You know that huge deal with Mr. Akira we did some time back?”
“Of course!”
“Well apparently, he’s gone and fired most of his employees and replaced them all with our bots wherever necessary,” he said rather uncomfortably. “Good for us, bad for his employees and now a bunch of them have gone to the one of the local news outlets and they are running a story about it and trust me, it really doesn’t make us look good.”
“So, who were you talking to then?” she asked with a slight frown. “An irate ex-employee?”
“No, the reporter covering the story,” he replied. “Apparently a bunch of them are going to get together and start picketing and protesting in front of the building here on Monday,”
“Why Monday?”
“So they can get together all the other people in West City who have lost their jobs because of us.”
“Good lord,” she groaned. “Why don’t they protest in front of their former work places who let them go? It sucks, but it’s not our fault their employees replaced them with bots. What are we supposed to do? Stop building and selling a superior product?”
“I don’t know,” he shook his head.
“Wait, how long have you known about this?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
“A few days,” he shrugged and she shot him a dirty look. “Look, I was trying to figure out an angle so as to avoid this so it wouldn’t come down on you,”
“It’s my company,” she hissed. “That means it’s my job to deal with any heat. Especially a PR nightmare like this!”
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” he said, putting his hands up. “I thought I was helping is all. You seemed a little stressed out this week, you’ve hardly spoken to me so I thought I was being considerate. I am a manager here too, remember? That shouldn’t all fall on you,”
“Yeah, but still,” she shook her head. “Unbelievable! So what do they want?”
“I still don’t know and the reporter wouldn’t say. I guess we will find out on Monday,”
“Alright, well, I’ll let my dad know. He’s good at putting out fires and handling these things diplomatically,” she said, standing up. “By the way, I was wondering if you wanted to come over Saturday evening?”
“To your place?” he asked in surprise.
“Sure, why not?” she asked with a smile.
“I just thought you wanted us to be super low key because of your son is all,” he answered.
“Well, I do, but seeing as you met him, what’s the point?” she sighed. “It happened a bit earlier than I wanted it to, but that’s the way it goes.”
“True, sure!” he smiled.
“I don’t even know if Trunks and Vegeta will be around this weekend or not,” she said quickly, not wanting him to feel pressured to hang out with Trunks. “Vegeta mentioned wanting to take Trunks on a father/son camping trip or something. I don’t know if he’s planned anything yet, so they may or may not be home.”
“That’s ok,” he shrugged. “Whatever you want to do,”
“Alright,” she smiled. “We can figure it out after work tomorrow.”
“Sounds good to me!” he smiled at her, getting up to open his office door for her, but leaned in to kiss her lightly on the cheek.
Bulma kissed him back and gave him a quick one-armed hug before leaving the office for the day. It was early enough that Trunks should still have been up and she could spend some time with him before bed and hopefully Vegeta was around so she could find a way to casually and accidentally let him know that Derek would be coming over tomorrow night after work.
She thought about that as she drove home with a slight smirk settling on her face as she wondered how he would react to that. What would he do if she decided to let Derek spend the night? She was ready for that, she decided. In two weeks, it would be their three month anniversary.
Fuck it, we’ll see where the night takes us, she told herself and decided not to stress out about it. While Vegeta had seemed like he’d wanted to kiss her, he’d also told her he didn’t give a fuck what she did either.
Maybe it’s time to take that theory and put it to the test, she decided as she replayed hers and Vegeta’s conversation from Sunday night back in her mind. There was the old saying, what was it? The lady does protest too much.
-0-0-0-
Work on Saturday went by quickly for both Bulma and Derek, as they had spent most of their day trying to figure out how to handle these potential protesters. Bulma’s father was away doing business for a few days and wouldn’t be back until mid-week, something her mother didn’t feel the need to share with her until she was grabbing breakfast on her way out. It was unusual for them to not travel together so it had never occurred to her that her father may have been away in the first place.
She decided to leave him be at least until Monday afternoon before the six o’clock news broadcast happened. In the meantime, she and Derek and Naz, the general sales manager, worked together trying to come up with a decent statement that would be both sensitive to the issue but also remind the public that they weren’t responsible for business owners and how they ran their businesses.
“This is my fault,” Derek sighed in frustration as they received their drink order from the lounge they had decided to hit before heading to Bulma’s place for the night. They both agreed that they needed a few drinks to unwind before forgetting about work and having a pleasant evening together.
“Why is it your fault?” Bulma asked, sipping her drink.
“Because they were only interested in vehicles for their employees when they came in for that meeting,” he explained. “I’m the one that got caught up in the moment of wanting to close a killer deal and didn’t even consider the bigger picture and what it would mean for them to get the maintenance bots.”
“That’s what makes you a great sales person, Derek,” she sighed. “I guarantee you that anyone else on our sales floor would have done the exact same thing in your shoes.”
“You wouldn’t have,” he countered.
“Because I’m not a sales person,”
“And maybe that’s a good thing,” he pointed out.
“Yes and no,” she shrugged. “At the end of the day how could you have known Mr. Akira would fire all his landscapers and whoever else because he’d replaced them all with bots?”
“I guess you’re right, but I should have thought about that before going into another sales pitch when all you’d asked me to do was go over all the information you’d already provided them with,” he said glumly, looking at her drink.
“I know, it’s half empty already,” she rolled her eyes. “Don’t judge me, I’m thirsty,”
“So you see it as half empty?” he asked in an amused tone. “I would have thought you were the glass is half full type of girl,”
“Usually,” she shrugged. “Why, which one are you?”
Derek smirked and replied “Can I interest you in some ice? Putting ice in your drink will make it appear full again,”
“Very funny,” she snorted. “See? You’re a sales guy. That’s totally sales mentality right there and you know what?”
“What?”
“I wish this drink was chilled, so if you were selling ice, you’d have made a sale right there,” she giggled.
“Supply and demand,”
“Exactly,” she nodded. “Don’t worry about it,”
“I’ll try not to,”
“Let’s just have some drinks and good food and then head back to my place,” she suggested. “We can watch a movie and just… go from there and see what happens,” she said boldly, telling herself that she was ready to take things further and putting it out there like she just did, was the only way she’d quit procrastinating and actually start getting over Vegeta and living her life.
“Alright,” he agreed. “No more business talk,”
“Nope,” she shook her head. “None,”
“So did Trunks go on a trip with his dad?” Derek asked, closing his menu. He’d decided what he was ordering.
“No,” she shook her head. “I don’t think so, anyway. Neither of them mentioned it to me so they’re probably both at home; if that’s okay?”
“Oh no, that’s fine,” Derek replied. “I’d like to see Trunks again, he’s a really cool kid. Really mature for his age,”
“Yea, I know,” she sighed. “Vegeta’s parents were really… strict from what I know and so he grew up really fast and so he’s adamant about not treating Trunks like a baby who can’t do anything for himself. He wants him to be independent and to be able to think and do things for himself.”
“Well he certainly is well spoken and well-mannered for his age,”
“Thanks,” Bulma replied thoughtfully. “He gets that from his father. I work too much so I don’t see him as much as I’d like so he spends way more time with Vegeta than with me once I started with the sales department. It’s a blessing in disguise, really,”
“Why?”
“Because my parents and I spoiled him rotten,” she snickered. “Vegeta doesn’t have the patience for that so he whipped him into shape within a week or two I think it was and I know that sounds terrible, but honestly we went from having a terrorist three year old in the house to a well-mannered, polite, little boy that isn’t terrible to have around,”
“What did he do?” Derek snorted in amusement. “Sounds like he’s a bit of a drill Sargent,”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure he is,” she nodded, pausing as the waitress took their food orders. “He wasn’t mean or cruel to him, just set boundaries and rules and actually enforced them and made Trunks work for the things he wanted instead of just giving into him whenever he had a tantrum and Trunks loves his father so much it’s like he wants to impress him and not disappoint him so he does it. He hasn’t had a single temper tantrum since Vegeta took over watching over him and believe me, Trunks gave a whole new meaning to the term terrible two’s and frickin three’s.”
They finished their dinner and headed over to Bulma’s place. It was late enough, however that Trunks was already in bed and the house was quiet so they went upstairs.
Bulma locked her bedroom door to make sure no one came into her bedroom.
“This is your bedroom?” Derek asked in awe. “It’s like the size of my entire apartment.”
She chuckled.
He took her hand and pulled her towards him and kissed her.
Her heart pounded in both nervousness and anticipation. It had been so long since she’d done this and the last time was with Vegeta.
Vegeta, she thought as she kissed Derek back. Was she really ready to permanently shut that door? She wondered if he was even around. She hoped he was and she hoped he heard everything she was doing so that he knew exactly what he was missing out on. She knew she was being childish but she didn’t care. She had enough alcohol flowing through her system that she had zero inhibitions and etiquette was low on her priority list. And with that, her mind was made up.
“Let’s go outside,” she said, taking his hand and walking towards her balcony. “Wait here,” she skipped out onto her balcony to look around and came back in. “I had to make sure Vegeta wasn’t out there,”
“Why would he be hanging out on your bedroom balcony?” Derek asked with a frown.
“Who knows?” she snorted. “He likes to brood out there sometimes. It’s Vegeta, he’s weird. Go out there and I’ll get us drinks.”
“Right,” he commented, a little bit floored that firstly she had walked out onto her balcony to look for her ex and secondly that it seemed as though it wouldn’t have bothered her if he had been there. He shook his head nonetheless and went out there to wait for her.
The view out there was simply stunning and offered a lot more privacy than he would have thought. They were so high up and none of the nearby buildings were nearly as tall. For someone to see them they would have to be in a helicopter or a plane.
Bulma appeared a moment later, offering him a glass and poured him a glass, then one for herself and put the bottle down.
She took a long sip and leaned on the balcony next to him. She was nervous and all she could think of was all the conversations she and Vegeta had had out here.
Their first, real actual conversation had happened here; he had come up to comfort her after she had come home crying after her date with Yamcha had gone bad and they had broken up. It had also been the first time they had kissed; she had kissed him on his cheek, her way of thanking him for his kindness and consideration that evening. He had surprised her by taking her chin and kissing her on the mouth. Alright, he had panicked and fled a moment later before anything went further but he had kissed her.
Then a few months later she had come home drunk from a launch function. Drunk and angry with Yamcha for showing up with the same girl he had cheated on her with. She had left after her speech, drank all the way home in the limo and then made Vegeta come up here so she could continue her self-pitying and drinking. She still couldn’t remember that night clearly but she remembered taking her clothes off in front of him and them having a very intense make out session in her underwear on the balcony before he left again, leaving her wanting much more.
A few weeks later they had actually hooked up and broke up; all within a forty eight hour time span. She had discovered her pregnancy and it was on this balcony he had come to her to let her know he was leaving to train in space despite knowing she was pregnant.
She remembered that he was wearing the armour she had made for him and he’d looked so good in the moonlight as he informed her he was leaving her. It had been a civil conversation, all things considered.
Then the night before the Andriods had appeared, he had come to her up here. He had taken her away to show her his transformation. Then they’d fought when he brought her back about her wanting to go to the battlefield.
And now here they were. So many meaningful moments between them had happened out here on this balcony and she was regretting bringing Derek up here.
Bulma downed her glass of wine and reached for the bottle to give herself a refill. It was time to quit hanging on to the past and start looking forward.
She turned and smiled at Derek. Tonight was going to be great. She needed this. It had been so long since she had been intimate with someone that she decided then and there that the best cure for her to begin forgetting about Vegeta was to hop in with someone else. After all, they had been dating for nearly three months already and she wasn’t exactly putting him off. The poor guy had been patient and very respectful of her wishes to take things slow.
“You alright?” he asked her, sensing her indecision.
“I’m fine,” she smiled. “Just a bit tipsy and a bit nervous because I really like you but it’s been ages since I hooked up with anyone so I’m… ya…”
He chuckled at her. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. We can call it a night,”
“No, I do,” she insisted, closing the gap between them and kissing him.
Surprised by her sudden boldness, he kissed her back thoroughly. The last few weeks she had been driving him crazy thinking they were finally going to take things further and then they didn’t. He really liked her, so he let her take the lead in the pace of their relationship.
“Let’s go inside,” she said suddenly, taking his hand and leading him back into her bedroom, leaving her balcony door wide open.
She brought her arms around his neck and kissed him again, trying to work off his shirt.
Within a few short moments they were both unclothed and making out on her bed.
“You don’t want to shut that door?” he asked her, his mouth on her neck.
“Nah, it’s fine,” she sighed. She didn’t care if anyone heard them. She hoped they would be heard by a certain spikey-haired house guest.
She moaned louder than necessary as he entered her. “Did I hurt you?” he asked.
“No,” she replied, moving her body against him, wanting to get going already, she needed to reach fulfilment and didn’t realize how badly she wanted that release until this moment.
As they fell into a rhythm, Bulma was very vocal and it made Derek feel like he could do no wrong. It was as though their bodies were made for one another. While he hadn’t been with a ton of girls, usually there was a bit of a learning curve the first few times to figure out how each other’s bodies responded. Bulma was very easy to please, apparently, or so he assumed with the way she responded to him.
Bulma, on the other hand, wasn’t necessarily unsatisfied by Derek, but she wasn’t giving him a fair chance and she knew that, she thought guiltily. Here she had a brilliant, smart, dashingly handsome guy practically worshipping her body and all she could think about was Vegeta and if he was around to hear the supposedly amazing sex she was having right now.
“Fuck me,” she cried out.
Derek chuckled at her, amused by the fact that her usual proper demeanour had been completely cast aside and replaced by a foul mouthed minx. He had suspected that beneath her professional and cool exterior that between the sheets she was a bit of a nympho, which was fine by him.
“Alright then,” he said moving his upper torso off of her and leaning away while still buried inside of her. He grabbed both of her legs and brought them together; he crossed her ankles and slung them both over his right shoulder and proceeded to thrust into her harder than before.
“Oh god!” she screamed and meant it that time as he slowly moved into her at a much harder pace.
It didn’t take long after that and Derek finished. Bulma didn’t, but she was the only one who knew that. As far as Derek thought, she had come at least twice.
As he pulled out of her and settled in, he reached for her to hold her but she shrugged him off. “It’s too hot,” she said, kissing him deeply so he would not feel like she was completely giving him the brushoff when in actuality she was only feeling extremely guilty.
She had faked nearly all of it and it bothered her. She hadn’t even given the guy a chance to see if they were compatible between the sheets and her not finishing was all in her head and nothing to do with him; she knew that. She lay there thinking about it for a long time until she heard Derek beginning to snore lightly.
As soon as she knew that he was definitely asleep, she crawled out of bed and went to her balcony, carefully and quietly sliding the door shut behind her.
She walked to the side where she had begun stashing a pack of smokes and began rifling through the basket in search of one. She needed it.
She began to feel frustrated as she couldn’t seem to find them. She knew she’d hidden them well so her mother wouldn’t happen to find them on the odd time she decided to straighten out her room, but she hadn’t thought she’d hidden them quite that well.
“Shit,” she cursed to herself.
“Looking for these?” a deep, smooth as velvet voice that she would have recognized anywhere asked behind her.
She turned around to look at him and saw him dangling her box of smokes mockingly at her.
Bulma scowled at him and aggressively snatched them from his hand. “Give me those,” she grumbled under her breath, opening the pack and taking one out. She’d stashed the lighter inside the box as well.
“When did you start with this?” he asked, nodding once in her direction.
Bulma shrugged. “A little while ago,”
“I hear those disgusting things will kill you,”
“That’s why they call it the cancer stick,” she replied sarcastically, taking a decent drag from her cigarette. “I don’t smoke a lot, just casually every now and again.”
“Hmmn,” he grunted and she knew he didn’t approve. “Like after expending so much effort into an unsatisfying lay like you just did?”
Bulma glared at him wide eyed in embarrassment, unable to form a sentence for a moment before she caught herself. “Shows how much you know,” she replied trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. Now that she had sobered up completely and knew for sure that Vegeta would have heard, she felt embarrassed. “One normally smokes a cigarette after an extremely satisfying lay.”
Vegeta smirked and chuckled at her. “So was all the noise and cursing and shrieking for his benefit to make him feel adequate or was it for mine in a sad attempt to make me jealous?”
Shit! She cursed inwardly. “I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about, Vegeta,” she sighed. “But if your new favourite past time is sneaking around and listening in while I’m hooking up with someone, that’s low and creepy even for you. You should really look into finding a new hobby.”
“Says the woman who purposely leaves her doors and windows wide open so I’m sure anyone still on this compound and living in the vicinity within a ten block radius could hear you carrying on whether they wanted to or not,” he said accusingly, not hiding his disgust at her lack of propriety.
“Don’t judge me!” she snapped. “Go off somewhere and blow something up on some obscure island that won't be missed or go fly laps around the planet. You have options, you don’t have to stay here. Who I fuck and when and how loud I am while I’m being fucked isn’t any of your concern.”
“It is my concern when I live next to your damned room and am disturbed by your exploits and need I remind you that you have a son not far from your room who is at risk of hearing you?”
“Like you give a shit about Trunks,” she scoffed; though she did feel a pang of guilt and embarrassment at the thought that she may have subjected Trunks to that. It hadn’t even crossed her mind. Her only objective had been to hopefully get off this evening and attempt to piss Vegeta off. Unfortunately she hadn’t accomplished either. Vegeta was annoyed, but not for the reasons she had wanted him to be.
Her comment stung and he didn’t reply for a long moment, choosing not to confirm or deny her allegation that he didn’t care for Trunks. “All the same, you should be more mindful of him and quit acting like a hormonally crazed adolescent; you’re better than that. Show some class.”
As much as she hated to admit it, he was right and she did feel ashamed of herself and her conduct. “It won’t happen again,” she said quietly and put out the rest of her cigarette.
Vegeta grunted and said nothing more. A part of him wanted to throw her over his shoulder and take her back to his room to finish what that subpar human hadn’t been able to do. It had been years since they had been together intimately, but he was sure he remembered everything about her body that drove her wild.
“How did you know?” she asked suddenly, taking him out of his thoughts and leaning against the railing on her balcony next to him.
“Know what?”
“That I was kind of faking it a little?” she clarified and she was thankful it was dark outside because she could feel her face burning from embarrassment, but she really wanted to know how he knew.
“Kind of a little?” he snorted, crossing his arms and looking down his nose at her. “Please, you may be the only woman I have bedded but even I can tell the difference between what is real and what is fake.”
Bulma simply nodded and didn’t say anything. What could she say? What she wanted to say was something insulting to him to ease her embarrassment but knew that he would see right through her and call her out on it. Vegeta had been the best sex she’d ever had, despite his inexperience. She didn’t want to tell him that though and give his ego another needless reason to become more inflated than it already was.
“I’m the best you’ve ever had,” he said boldly to her as though he had been able to read her exact thoughts at that very moment. He placed his hands on either side of her in front of the railing, effectively trapping her there. While he was very conscientious to make sure their bodies weren’t actually physically touching, they could both feel the other and she had to consciously resist not leaning back into him but it was hard. It was like he was a magnet and her body wanted nothing more than to cling to him.
“Don’t flatter yourself,” she snorted in reply, though it didn’t come off as convincingly as she would have liked.
“It’s true,” he insisted quietly, leaning in just enough that he was nearly a hairs width away from her and she could feel his body heat even more through her thin, silk robe.
Just that small gesture caused her to shudder in her need for him and the memory of how it had felt to have his body on top of hers, moving flawlessly with her own in a perfect rhythm as they both strove to bring the other to completion.
He resisted the urge to touch her and smirked triumphantly as he could smell the arousal just radiating off of her and took great satisfaction in that. However it was beginning to affect him a lot more than he wanted to admit and he certainly did not want her to know.
Bulma took a deep breath, trying to calm her heart rate; she knew he’d have already noticed and would have taken note of that natural reaction among other biological changes she could feel coming alive within her that she had absolutely no control over. Damn him, she cursed. Damn him to hell!
“You know what, Vegeta,” she addressed him calmly trying to keep her breathing normal.
“Hmmm,” he responded, lightly skimming his nose up the length of her neck. It was the only physical contact he would allow.
“It’s been so long since we were together last, that I can’t even remember if you were the best or not,”
“Hmmmn, liar,” he hissed into her ear in amusement. While very tempting, it was going to take a lot more than that for him to take her up on anything. He wasn’t that weak where she was concerned.
“It’s true,” she insisted.
Vegeta remained silent, unsure of what to say to her. Everything about her was screaming at him to touch her, to finally take her. It would be so easy! He took another deep breath to take in her enticing scent but it was mixed with the scent of the other man still on her skin. It had always been there, but at the moment of his weakness it was a stark reminder that he was treading in very dangerous waters with her and served as effective as a bucket of cold water.
“Maybe I'll have to remedy that some other time,” he finally said to her. “When you don't have the stink of another male all over you,” he added, stepping abruptly away from her.
Bulma whirled around to face him only to find him gone altogether. “Bastard!” she hissed in frustration. She dwelled on what had just taken place for a moment as she lit a second cigarette. God it wasn’t fair how he can just evoke those feelings within me with little to no effort, she lamented to herself. Especially after all this time!
She finished her cigarette before heading back into her bedroom, being sure to shut and lock her balcony door this time before very carefully crawling back into bed so as not to disturb the other occupant.
As she lay there, all she could think of was Vegeta. His hands, his mouth, the feeling of his arms wrapped around her, holding her close; even the way he smelled. She had lied to him outside on the balcony when she’d told him that she couldn’t remember the specifics of their affair. She remembered everything; she remembered it so vividly that it was almost a cruel form of torture and no matter how much she despised him sometimes, she knew she would do just about anything to experience something like that again with him.
She couldn’t remember at which point she had begun touching herself as she thought and reminisced about Vegeta but she hadn’t consciously realized she was until a soft moan escaped from her lips. Shit, she thought to herself, freezing and hoping she hadn’t woken up her partner.
No such luck.
“Are you doing what I think you’re doing?” Derek asked, his voice laced with amusement rather than offense.
“Sorry,” she sighed, not sure if she should feel mortified or sorry for not even caring at all. She truly had no idea what to feel at the moment. The moment that had just taken place between her and Vegeta had been the most meaningful and encouraging exchange in years. While she didn’t want to read too much into it and get hurt all over again, she didn’t want to just brush it off as nothing just in case there was the possibility of something happening between them again. “I’m, I just.. It’s not that you weren’t good, I just-”
“Want more,” he said, rolling over to look at her.
“I, I don’t know what to say,” she said with a sigh, feeling beyond mortified by this point.
“It’s alright, I think it’s kind of hot actually,” he said, cupping her between her legs. “I love a woman who loves sex and isn’t ashamed of it.”
She snorted in amusement. Oh, if you only knew the real reason, she thought guiltily to herself.
“Can I help you or is this strictly a solo mission?” he asked, lightly nipping her shoulder.
She was so turned on from her discussion and interaction with Vegeta, she would have accepted an invitation from just about anyone. In response, Bulma kissed him and reached for him, encouraging him to crawl on top of her.
He entered her without hesitation.
-0-0-0-
Vegeta growled in annoyance as he could hear the muffled sounds of their coupling trough the walls.
At least she’s being quiet about it this time, he thought to himself as he lay in his bed on his back with his forearm across his eyes.
He suddenly smirked to himself in satisfaction at the knowledge that he knew she was thinking of him as that other male fucked her. While a part of him wished it was him doing the honours, another part of him figured it was just as well. Getting involved intimately with her again was just asking for trouble.
However his groin seemed to disagree as he felt himself grow hard again as he thought of Bulma in the throes of passion and it finally occurred to him that it annoyed him that she had taken this man to her bed; and it didn’t annoy him a bit. It annoyed him a whole lot.
He heard her cry out then and he knew that this time she wasn’t faking it.
Vegeta threw back the covers and plodded into his washroom to turn on the shower without waiting for the water to warm up and began to relieve himself as he thought of a certain blue-haired woman and for the first time in a long time, wished that she was his.
Nonsense, he chastised himself harshly. You only feel that way because you caught a whiff of her arousal. Nothing more.
As he pumped at his manhood he recalled that time she had given him oral sex when they had showered together that one time. Oh, now that had been an experience unlike any other. The feeling of her warm, wet mouth sucking on him had nearly had him spent after only a few moments. It had been so unexpected and he had been baffled at her willingness to pleasure him in that way. What had made him finish so quickly was when she had begun touching herself while still pleasuring him orally.
He gasped as he felt his release come quickly at the thought of her doing that to him again.
Vegeta leaned into the tile wall and rested his forehead on his forearm as he slowly pumped his member in an effort to prolong his climax. It had been a long time since he had felt the need to relieve himself in this way, he thought in shame and disgust at his own weakness. It is all the woman’s fault, he told himself as he relaxed and began washing himself.
He had no clue what to do where she was concerned. She had somehow pulled him out of whatever self-loathing funk he had been in. He wasn’t sure how she had done it, but she had and now that he was beginning to get used to the idea of staying here permanently and perhaps building a life with her and the boy, she had found another male to occupy her time and attentions and now that male was using her body in such a way he felt should have been reserved for him and him alone. Mates do not fuck around with others, he told himself before realizing what he had just put together.
Mate. That was how he viewed Bulma he realized then and there with an astute clarity and horror mixed together.
What do I do now, he wondered. If tonight was any indication, he figured she was very much still interested in him but was it strictly for physical reasons or was she sincere?
Last time things had begun moving far too fast for him and he had bolted. She had confessed to having far deeper feelings for him than what he had for her; even now, he could admit that he had grown to care for her and the boy on some level but it wasn't to the degree that she had claimed to feel for him and he wasn’t even sure if he was capable of ever reciprocating those feelings to that level even if he did stay and work at a cooperative union with her.
He had bitten her last time as well, something one only did with someone whom they mean to mark as theirs. He hadn’t realized until now the full significance of it that even back then he had felt strongly towards her. Yes, but she rejected it, he reminded himself bitterly. He had bitten her mid hook up while lost in the moment and she had gotten upset with him. It never had occurred to him that she misunderstood the meaning and depth of the action, he had simply left from embarrassment that he had been so stupid as to have allowed himself to lose his mind and nearly take a weak human female as his mate and life partner.
Until recently, he had been thanking his lucky stars that the biting had put her off. Unfortunately she had already obviously conceived the boy; unknowingly to both of them at the time and so here they were; living in this confused mess that was almost as ridiculous as those idiotic afternoon programs her mother liked to watch obsessively.
Vegeta knew nothing about seducing women but he did know a thing or two about playing on another male’s possible insecurities. He may be a recluse and not know what the current trend on this planet was as far as what women wanted in a man, but he knew that he was most definitely a sight to behold and that Bulma was drawn to him still on a physical level.
Maybe it was time for him to make an appearance and meet this clown she had been out gallivanting with? Tomorrow morning he would do just that, he decided.
Washed and clean, he shut the water off and went back to his own bed, hoping he would fall asleep easily now that he was sated. While definitely not as satisfying, it was good enough.
0-0-0
The next morning, Bulma got up a bit earlier than she thought she would. She hasn’t slept all that well. She kept waking up and thinking about Vegeta.
Derek was still fast asleep she noticed and smiled at him. What are you going to do about him, she asked herself. Sure he was nice and definitely handsome, he was smart, he treated her really well and they had a great time together but she knew ultimately it would never work. If Vegeta had never entered the picture, maybe it would have. Not only was he everything she would have wanted, her parents would have approved and while that wasn’t a deal breaker in her mind, it still did mean a lot to her.
She sighed as she carefully got out of bed and headed out to her balcony again to think about this dilemma. Of course, she groaned. There was Vegeta, shirtless in nothing more than sneakers and those tight training shorts that left nothing to the imagination, meditating and doing katas in the yard and looking nothing less than a Greek god. Next to him was Trunks, though he was in his dark teal gi that had been given to him as a birthday gift from Chi-Chi and Goten. Trunks loved it so much he always wore it for training despite the fact that it annoyed his father to no end.
She watched her son in pride as he carefully mirrored his father’s movements absolutely perfectly.
While she was more than a little confused about what to do about hers and Vegeta’s relationship, this was a reminder to her of how far they had come leaving things strictly platonic between them. It was so good for Trunks that she didn’t want to do anything to ruin that.
“Hey, there you are,” Derek said sleepily, coming outside.
“Hey,” she turned around, startled, walking towards him wanting to head back inside so he wouldn’t see the display out in her yard.
“It’s nice out,” he said, taking her hand and walking towards the rail of her balcony. “Oh wow,” he commented as he saw Vegeta and Trunks work through their morning routine.
“Yea,”
“Is that Trunks’ father?”
“Yea,” she sighed.
“Wow,” he commented.
“Yea,”
“Do they do this every morning?” he asked.
“Most mornings, yes,” she nodded. “Vegeta does. Trunks tries to if he gets up early enough.”
“What happens if he doesn’t get up early enough?”
“Then he doesn’t get to train with his father,” she replied only now realizing how ridiculous that sounded. “He needs to be on time or not bother coming at all.”
“So what are they training for?”
“Nothing,” she shrugged. “Vegeta is always training. It’s what he does.”
“So he’s like a body builder?” he asked in confusion.
“Oh, no,” she shook her head quickly, chuckling. “No, ha! Vegeta would have a fit if he heard you say that. He trains in mixed martial arts mostly,” she wanted to mention that he was in the Cell games but then decided not to. That was not a battle he was proud of and she could just picture him being very displeased should Derek actually speak to him and ask him about it. “If there’s ever another Worlds Martial Arts Tournament again, he’ll probably enter though. Him and Trunks.”
“Do you think he could beat Mr. Satan?” he asked snidely with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh, please,” she snorted. “Trunks could take on Mr. Satan and beat him ten times over. Vegeta going up against him would hardly be fair.”
“He’s that good that you think so, huh?”
“Oh, I know so,” she replied confidently.
“Interesting. Does he take on any students ever?”
“Vegeta? Oh, no,” she answered quickly. “He only trains alone, unless Trunks joins him. Trust me, you don’t want to train with Vegeta.”
“I’ve always had an interest in martial arts myself,” he said casually. “The guy looks amazing and obviously knows what he’s doing. I’d love to train with someone like him. I’d pay him of course.”
“No,” she said firmly, taking him by the arm and leading him back inside. “Look, I don’t want to talk about Vegeta.”
“That’s fair, but if he doesn’t take on pupils and doesn’t compete, what exactly does he do for a living?” he asked in confusion.
Bulma was slightly taken aback by the question and realized she didn’t have an answer. “He trains and he helps look after Trunks.”
“That’s it?” he asked. “Like he doesn’t work or contribute in any way?”
“He’s present in my son’s life and that’s all that matters,” she snapped, beginning to get annoyed as she started putting her housecoat on. “It’s not your concern anyway.”
“True, it isn’t,” he agreed with a frown. “But if this is going somewhere serious between us, then it kind of does concern me,”
“It doesn’t,” she said firmly, turning to face him. “We had this discussion long before we started seeing each other that Vegeta’s place is here for however long he decides to stay. It is not up for debate and whoever I end up with needs to understand and accept that. If you can, great. I really like you and I think we have a lot of fun together but if you can’t then I’m sorry. I have to put my son first.”
“Alright, but this arrangement you both have here isn't normal,” he insisted. “Don’t you care to look at this from my point of view?”
“No, I don’t,” she shook her head. “Because I warned you that my personal life was complicated. I know this arrangement between Vegeta and I isn’t ideal or normal or conventional, I don't need you to point that out to me. But so far it’s working out just fine. We both live under the same roof, we are on civil terms and we parent our son together. It may seem strange from the outside to anyone else looking in but I’m thankful for the way things are and I wouldn’t have it any other way!”
“You’re thankful?”
“Yes, I am. I’m thankful I don’t have to fight and argue over visitation and holidays. I’m thankful I never had to get caught up in some vicious and expensive custody court battle. I’m thankful that both of us are mature enough to put our differences aside and raise Trunks together without using him as a weapon to hurt the other. I’m not going to say it’s always been easy, it took a long time for us to both be able to put the others past offenses on the back burner and find an equal ground so as to not let Trunks see it but I’m thankful that we are both able to do that.”
“And that’s very admirable of you both for being able to do that, I respect you, but it's still not normal,” he insisted calmly.
“I never implied that my personal life was normal. I told you-”
“You never told me that your ex looked like that!”
“Right, so that’s what this is about?” she sighed heavily. “That Vegeta looks like walking temptation?”
“Am I wrong?”
“No. How do you think I ended up becoming a single mother?” she asked jokingly. “Yes, Vegeta is the most gorgeous man I have ever laid eyes on but trust me, it gets old real fast.”
“Are you still attracted to him?”
“That doesn’t matter,” she said.
“It does,”
“Look, what happened between us was nothing more than a fling that only lasted a couple of days. We haven’t been together in years. The last time we hooked up was weeks before I even found out I was pregnant with Trunks,” she told him. “So it doesn’t matter if I’m attracted to him or not, nothing is going on between us and nothing more other than raising our son will ever happen again between us because too much history has gone down.
“Too much shit has happened between us for either of us to be able to come back from it. And it's not just him who’s done spiteful, hurtful things, I’ve also done my fair share of things too that I’m not proud of,” like last night for example, what the fuck was that? She added mentally, now feeling very ashamed of her own conduct. Since the Cell games, Vegeta had not done anything to go out of his way to hurt her. She on the other hand had been nothing but mean and vindictive towards him, even when she wasn’t trying to be, she realized right then. “Vegeta has had a very difficult life up until not long before we met. No, he’s not the model citizen or tenant, he will never win father of the year and he isn’t always the easiest person to get along with but he’s the father of my son and considering his background, I am just thankful every day that he is here. And don’t take that to mean that I let him stay here because of his past or because I feel sorry for him. It’s not about that. It’s about Trunks having his father in his life and that’s it, there’s nothing more to it than that.”
“Alright, sorry,” he said, looking strangely at her. He hadn’t thought she’d get so upset about this. “I didn’t realize how strongly you felt about this.”
Bulma blinked a moment as she tried to figure out who she was trying to convince that there was absolutely no chance of rekindling a romantic relationship with Vegeta. “It’s alright,” she sighed, feeling bad now for going off on him like that. “It just took us both a very long time to get to where we are right now and I won’t let anything potentially ruin it. If you want to be with me then this is something that you need to accept and if you decide that this is way more than what you bargained for, then I understand it and won’t hold it against you should you decide not to stick around.”
Derek nodded, unsure of what to say. “I don’t want to fight with you,” he said. “I had a fantastic evening with you last night and I don’t want to spoil it this morning.”
“I did too,” she admitted. Until a certain sexy asshole Saiyan decided to make an appearance and mess with my head, she added silently. She was going to rip him a new one later on when Derek was gone and Trunks went to bed.
“The only other thing I want to say in my defence before we change the subject altogether is I really like you, but I’ve been down this road before. My ex fiancé claimed she was over her ex when we first got together. She said they’d been broken up for over a year and that she was ready to start dating again. Almost four years in and right before we were going to get married, she left me, claiming that she was still in love with an ex she previously insisted she was over,” he told her honestly and seriously. “Forgive me for being suspicious and just a little overly paranoid. I’m not the type of guy who is possessive or who would forbid you from talking to other guys or being friends with them but you live with your ex and you share a son. That’s major!”
“I understand your concerns, Derek, but honestly, we’re done,” she said quietly.
“See, and that’s what she said,” he replied. “Can you guarantee that you would never drop me for him if he expressed a romantic interest in you?”
No, she answered immediately in her mind and she knew right then without a doubt that this was a mistake. She should not have let things with Derek go this far. It wasn’t fair to him. “I don’t know,” she admitted quietly.
Derek nodded in response and she felt terrible from the hurt look he gave her as he stepped away from her. “That’s all I needed to know,”
“I’m sorry, Derek,” she said, reaching for his hand. “I like you. I like you a lot actually. I think if maybe we had met before I had Trunks or met Vegeta that we’d have been perfect for each other but,”
“It’s alright, I know,” he smiled at her. “You have a whole lot of history there, you both share a son and it would be selfish of me to expect you to forget that. You have a decent solution figured out between you two that no, I don’t understand, but I respect it. Maybe you both will find your way back to each other and if that were to happen I couldn’t expect you to not take it but at the same time, I can’t put myself in a position to be hurt if you aren't sure now and in a few years you go back to him. I can’t go through that again.”
“I know, I’m sorry, Derek,” she said. “When we kind of started seeing each other I thought I was ready to move on, I did. I didn’t mean to play you or lead you on.”
“I know you didn’t,” he said good naturedly, getting dressed. “You warned me over and over again that us seeing each other wasn’t a good idea. It’s not completely your fault. Can we still be friends?”
“Absolutely,” she smiled. “I hope so, anyway. I like working with you and I don’t want it to be awkward at work.”
“Oh, it’s going to be awkward,” he chuckled. “But I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
“Well at least stay for some breakfast?” she offered. “My mom usually makes a killer breakfast on Sunday mornings with steak and eggs and waffles, homemade hash browns, everything.”
“No, that sounds amazing, but I think I’ll pass on that today,” he said. The thought of having breakfast with the father of Bulma’s son after having spent the night with her wasn’t an experience he wanted.
“Alright,” she nodded. She understood that he would probably think it too awkward to stay for breakfast but she didn’t want him to feel like she was kicking him out and he needed to be doing the walk of shame.
They both dressed quickly and quietly and as the moment dragged they both began to feel more and more awkward.
When he was finished getting dressed, Derek smiled at her. “I’ll see you at work tomorrow,” he said.
“Absolutely!” she smiled back even though she felt terrible right now. “Hey, I’m so sorry-”
“Don’t be,” he said walking up to her and cupping her cheek. “At least we figured this out now and not several months or a few years in.”
“True,” she nodded. The fact that Derek was being so nice about the whole thing making her feel even worse than she already did.
With that he left through the front door. As he walked towards his car parked on the street, he managed to catch sight of Vegeta as Trunks was running into the house, presumably for breakfast and the two men made eye contact.
The stern look he got from Vegeta told him that the other man was very well aware of what had happened last night and he couldn’t help but run his hand across the back of his neck as he swore he felt his hair stand on end. Before he looked away, Vegeta smirked at him in what looked like distain before walking away and into the house after his son.
Derek stood there a moment, watching Vegeta leave. The man carried himself with such confidence and walked like he owned the place. He couldn’t help but feel a measure of resentment build towards him as he realized that Vegeta had staged this whole thing. It was as though he’d known that if he’d gotten up bright and early to work out that the other man would pick a fight with Bulma because of his own foolish insecurities; even if those insecurities were solely based on physical appearance.
While Derek was far from insecure and he had a better than average body thanks to his gym trainer and following a healthy diet, one look at Vegeta and he had felt like he was mediocre at best. The man had the body of a god and was pure perfection from what he could see and he could hardly blame Bulma for being attracted to him even after a shady history between them.
He chuckled and shook his head as he walked up to his car and unlocked it. “Well played, sir, well played,” he said to himself as he got in. There was a reason that up until now he had not seen or caught a glimpse of this elusive baby daddy of Bulma’s. She had even mentioned on a few occasions that Vegeta was only seen when he wanted to be seen. Well, this morning he had obviously wanted to be seen and it wasn’t until now that he realized he had done exactly what the other man had anticipated. He had seen him and had felt threatened by his flawless physique.
Derek got into his car and left the compound feeling like he’d made a huge mistake in ending it with Bulma but not knowing what else to do in this complicated situation.
-0-0-0-
Thanks for reading guys!!
Falling Away With You
Chapter 8
The next day after her discussion with Vegeta, Bulma thought long and hard about what she wanted to do with regards to Derek but couldn’t quite come up with a simple solution about it.
Yes, she told Vegeta she would break things off with him and she had meant it; if Vegeta wanted her, then she would end it without a second thought. However, Vegeta hadn’t told her what he wanted either. He hadn’t commented at all on the matter and so she decided that she wouldn’t put the kibosh on something potentially good for the guy who could not or would not commit to her.
“Why should I be the one doing all the work?” she muttered to herself as she finished getting dressed for the day. I told him that I wanted him and he still didn’t make a move.
She exited her bedroom and headed down to the kitchen. As usual, Trunks and Vegeta were outside in the yard doing their morning training ritual and she wondered if Trunks had asked him about why someone else had been holding her hand and why he never did. She chuckled silently to herself, wishing she could be around for that conversation just to see the look on his face and how he would respond to that.
Grabbing a breakfast muffin and her coffee, she exited the house without greeting either of them, thinking it was best to let them spend time together uninterrupted; especially after Vegeta had ditched Trunks yesterday at the amusement park.
Her day passed by uneventful. Sales were down at the moment due to an economic down turn but they were still steady and doing better than their competition so that was the main thing.
Derek was feeling better and she took the opportunity to apologise to him for Trunks’ rambunctious behaviour. He’d been surprisingly good about the whole thing and brushed it off as nothing for her to worry about as, kids will be kids. He also was really understanding about how this may be a very confusing time for Trunks and to just let him come around on his own.
The week passed by quickly. Bulma didn’t see much of Vegeta again this week; only in passing if she happened to be around when Trunks was awake and he hadn’t said much. She had managed to ask him if he was still thinking of taking Trunks away on a camping trip and he had only grunted and that was all she’d gotten out of him.
Friday evening finally rolled around and Bulma was getting ready to leave. She hadn’t exactly avoided Derek all week, but she had taken a few steps back and spent less time with him in order to revaluate what she should do. It was also a chance to make sure she was available so that Vegeta would hopefully notice and come talk to her after he’d had a few days to think about things himself.
He didn’t.
So she decided she would continue seeing Derek. Now that Vegeta knew about them, she felt more comfortable being open about it and maybe that would spur him into action and make him figure out what he really wanted. He hadn’t brought up anything or made any effort to prove it since their conversation on Sunday night, but she knew he wanted her. His indecision and way that he’d looked at her had told her so. So what is he waiting for? I’m not getting any younger!
She approached Derek once he had gotten off a call he had been on for a long while. She wasn’t sure who he was on with, but he seemed frustrated, which was very unlike him.
“You alright?” she asked cautiously. “What was that all about?”
Derek sighed and looked at her a moment. “You don’t want to know,”
“Sure I do!” she said, closing his door and sitting down.
He seemed to think about it a moment before starting. “You know that huge deal with Mr. Akira we did some time back?”
“Of course!”
“Well apparently, he’s gone and fired most of his employees and replaced them all with our bots wherever necessary,” he said rather uncomfortably. “Good for us, bad for his employees and now a bunch of them have gone to the one of the local news outlets and they are running a story about it and trust me, it really doesn’t make us look good.”
“So, who were you talking to then?” she asked with a slight frown. “An irate ex-employee?”
“No, the reporter covering the story,” he replied. “Apparently a bunch of them are going to get together and start picketing and protesting in front of the building here on Monday,”
“Why Monday?”
“So they can get together all the other people in West City who have lost their jobs because of us.”
“Good lord,” she groaned. “Why don’t they protest in front of their former work places who let them go? It sucks, but it’s not our fault their employees replaced them with bots. What are we supposed to do? Stop building and selling a superior product?”
“I don’t know,” he shook his head.
“Wait, how long have you known about this?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
“A few days,” he shrugged and she shot him a dirty look. “Look, I was trying to figure out an angle so as to avoid this so it wouldn’t come down on you,”
“It’s my company,” she hissed. “That means it’s my job to deal with any heat. Especially a PR nightmare like this!”
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” he said, putting his hands up. “I thought I was helping is all. You seemed a little stressed out this week, you’ve hardly spoken to me so I thought I was being considerate. I am a manager here too, remember? That shouldn’t all fall on you,”
“Yeah, but still,” she shook her head. “Unbelievable! So what do they want?”
“I still don’t know and the reporter wouldn’t say. I guess we will find out on Monday,”
“Alright, well, I’ll let my dad know. He’s good at putting out fires and handling these things diplomatically,” she said, standing up. “By the way, I was wondering if you wanted to come over Saturday evening?”
“To your place?” he asked in surprise.
“Sure, why not?” she asked with a smile.
“I just thought you wanted us to be super low key because of your son is all,” he answered.
“Well, I do, but seeing as you met him, what’s the point?” she sighed. “It happened a bit earlier than I wanted it to, but that’s the way it goes.”
“True, sure!” he smiled.
“I don’t even know if Trunks and Vegeta will be around this weekend or not,” she said quickly, not wanting him to feel pressured to hang out with Trunks. “Vegeta mentioned wanting to take Trunks on a father/son camping trip or something. I don’t know if he’s planned anything yet, so they may or may not be home.”
“That’s ok,” he shrugged. “Whatever you want to do,”
“Alright,” she smiled. “We can figure it out after work tomorrow.”
“Sounds good to me!” he smiled at her, getting up to open his office door for her, but leaned in to kiss her lightly on the cheek.
Bulma kissed him back and gave him a quick one-armed hug before leaving the office for the day. It was early enough that Trunks should still have been up and she could spend some time with him before bed and hopefully Vegeta was around so she could find a way to casually and accidentally let him know that Derek would be coming over tomorrow night after work.
She thought about that as she drove home with a slight smirk settling on her face as she wondered how he would react to that. What would he do if she decided to let Derek spend the night? She was ready for that, she decided. In two weeks, it would be their three month anniversary.
Fuck it, we’ll see where the night takes us, she told herself and decided not to stress out about it. While Vegeta had seemed like he’d wanted to kiss her, he’d also told her he didn’t give a fuck what she did either.
Maybe it’s time to take that theory and put it to the test, she decided as she replayed hers and Vegeta’s conversation from Sunday night back in her mind. There was the old saying, what was it? The lady does protest too much.
-0-0-0-
Work on Saturday went by quickly for both Bulma and Derek, as they had spent most of their day trying to figure out how to handle these potential protesters. Bulma’s father was away doing business for a few days and wouldn’t be back until mid-week, something her mother didn’t feel the need to share with her until she was grabbing breakfast on her way out. It was unusual for them to not travel together so it had never occurred to her that her father may have been away in the first place.
She decided to leave him be at least until Monday afternoon before the six o’clock news broadcast happened. In the meantime, she and Derek and Naz, the general sales manager, worked together trying to come up with a decent statement that would be both sensitive to the issue but also remind the public that they weren’t responsible for business owners and how they ran their businesses.
“This is my fault,” Derek sighed in frustration as they received their drink order from the lounge they had decided to hit before heading to Bulma’s place for the night. They both agreed that they needed a few drinks to unwind before forgetting about work and having a pleasant evening together.
“Why is it your fault?” Bulma asked, sipping her drink.
“Because they were only interested in vehicles for their employees when they came in for that meeting,” he explained. “I’m the one that got caught up in the moment of wanting to close a killer deal and didn’t even consider the bigger picture and what it would mean for them to get the maintenance bots.”
“That’s what makes you a great sales person, Derek,” she sighed. “I guarantee you that anyone else on our sales floor would have done the exact same thing in your shoes.”
“You wouldn’t have,” he countered.
“Because I’m not a sales person,”
“And maybe that’s a good thing,” he pointed out.
“Yes and no,” she shrugged. “At the end of the day how could you have known Mr. Akira would fire all his landscapers and whoever else because he’d replaced them all with bots?”
“I guess you’re right, but I should have thought about that before going into another sales pitch when all you’d asked me to do was go over all the information you’d already provided them with,” he said glumly, looking at her drink.
“I know, it’s half empty already,” she rolled her eyes. “Don’t judge me, I’m thirsty,”
“So you see it as half empty?” he asked in an amused tone. “I would have thought you were the glass is half full type of girl,”
“Usually,” she shrugged. “Why, which one are you?”
Derek smirked and replied “Can I interest you in some ice? Putting ice in your drink will make it appear full again,”
“Very funny,” she snorted. “See? You’re a sales guy. That’s totally sales mentality right there and you know what?”
“What?”
“I wish this drink was chilled, so if you were selling ice, you’d have made a sale right there,” she giggled.
“Supply and demand,”
“Exactly,” she nodded. “Don’t worry about it,”
“I’ll try not to,”
“Let’s just have some drinks and good food and then head back to my place,” she suggested. “We can watch a movie and just… go from there and see what happens,” she said boldly, telling herself that she was ready to take things further and putting it out there like she just did, was the only way she’d quit procrastinating and actually start getting over Vegeta and living her life.
“Alright,” he agreed. “No more business talk,”
“Nope,” she shook her head. “None,”
“So did Trunks go on a trip with his dad?” Derek asked, closing his menu. He’d decided what he was ordering.
“No,” she shook her head. “I don’t think so, anyway. Neither of them mentioned it to me so they’re probably both at home; if that’s okay?”
“Oh no, that’s fine,” Derek replied. “I’d like to see Trunks again, he’s a really cool kid. Really mature for his age,”
“Yea, I know,” she sighed. “Vegeta’s parents were really… strict from what I know and so he grew up really fast and so he’s adamant about not treating Trunks like a baby who can’t do anything for himself. He wants him to be independent and to be able to think and do things for himself.”
“Well he certainly is well spoken and well-mannered for his age,”
“Thanks,” Bulma replied thoughtfully. “He gets that from his father. I work too much so I don’t see him as much as I’d like so he spends way more time with Vegeta than with me once I started with the sales department. It’s a blessing in disguise, really,”
“Why?”
“Because my parents and I spoiled him rotten,” she snickered. “Vegeta doesn’t have the patience for that so he whipped him into shape within a week or two I think it was and I know that sounds terrible, but honestly we went from having a terrorist three year old in the house to a well-mannered, polite, little boy that isn’t terrible to have around,”
“What did he do?” Derek snorted in amusement. “Sounds like he’s a bit of a drill Sargent,”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure he is,” she nodded, pausing as the waitress took their food orders. “He wasn’t mean or cruel to him, just set boundaries and rules and actually enforced them and made Trunks work for the things he wanted instead of just giving into him whenever he had a tantrum and Trunks loves his father so much it’s like he wants to impress him and not disappoint him so he does it. He hasn’t had a single temper tantrum since Vegeta took over watching over him and believe me, Trunks gave a whole new meaning to the term terrible two’s and frickin three’s.”
They finished their dinner and headed over to Bulma’s place. It was late enough, however that Trunks was already in bed and the house was quiet so they went upstairs.
Bulma locked her bedroom door to make sure no one came into her bedroom.
“This is your bedroom?” Derek asked in awe. “It’s like the size of my entire apartment.”
She chuckled.
He took her hand and pulled her towards him and kissed her.
Her heart pounded in both nervousness and anticipation. It had been so long since she’d done this and the last time was with Vegeta.
Vegeta, she thought as she kissed Derek back. Was she really ready to permanently shut that door? She wondered if he was even around. She hoped he was and she hoped he heard everything she was doing so that he knew exactly what he was missing out on. She knew she was being childish but she didn’t care. She had enough alcohol flowing through her system that she had zero inhibitions and etiquette was low on her priority list. And with that, her mind was made up.
“Let’s go outside,” she said, taking his hand and walking towards her balcony. “Wait here,” she skipped out onto her balcony to look around and came back in. “I had to make sure Vegeta wasn’t out there,”
“Why would he be hanging out on your bedroom balcony?” Derek asked with a frown.
“Who knows?” she snorted. “He likes to brood out there sometimes. It’s Vegeta, he’s weird. Go out there and I’ll get us drinks.”
“Right,” he commented, a little bit floored that firstly she had walked out onto her balcony to look for her ex and secondly that it seemed as though it wouldn’t have bothered her if he had been there. He shook his head nonetheless and went out there to wait for her.
The view out there was simply stunning and offered a lot more privacy than he would have thought. They were so high up and none of the nearby buildings were nearly as tall. For someone to see them they would have to be in a helicopter or a plane.
Bulma appeared a moment later, offering him a glass and poured him a glass, then one for herself and put the bottle down.
She took a long sip and leaned on the balcony next to him. She was nervous and all she could think of was all the conversations she and Vegeta had had out here.
Their first, real actual conversation had happened here; he had come up to comfort her after she had come home crying after her date with Yamcha had gone bad and they had broken up. It had also been the first time they had kissed; she had kissed him on his cheek, her way of thanking him for his kindness and consideration that evening. He had surprised her by taking her chin and kissing her on the mouth. Alright, he had panicked and fled a moment later before anything went further but he had kissed her.
Then a few months later she had come home drunk from a launch function. Drunk and angry with Yamcha for showing up with the same girl he had cheated on her with. She had left after her speech, drank all the way home in the limo and then made Vegeta come up here so she could continue her self-pitying and drinking. She still couldn’t remember that night clearly but she remembered taking her clothes off in front of him and them having a very intense make out session in her underwear on the balcony before he left again, leaving her wanting much more.
A few weeks later they had actually hooked up and broke up; all within a forty eight hour time span. She had discovered her pregnancy and it was on this balcony he had come to her to let her know he was leaving to train in space despite knowing she was pregnant.
She remembered that he was wearing the armour she had made for him and he’d looked so good in the moonlight as he informed her he was leaving her. It had been a civil conversation, all things considered.
Then the night before the Andriods had appeared, he had come to her up here. He had taken her away to show her his transformation. Then they’d fought when he brought her back about her wanting to go to the battlefield.
And now here they were. So many meaningful moments between them had happened out here on this balcony and she was regretting bringing Derek up here.
Bulma downed her glass of wine and reached for the bottle to give herself a refill. It was time to quit hanging on to the past and start looking forward.
She turned and smiled at Derek. Tonight was going to be great. She needed this. It had been so long since she had been intimate with someone that she decided then and there that the best cure for her to begin forgetting about Vegeta was to hop in with someone else. After all, they had been dating for nearly three months already and she wasn’t exactly putting him off. The poor guy had been patient and very respectful of her wishes to take things slow.
“You alright?” he asked her, sensing her indecision.
“I’m fine,” she smiled. “Just a bit tipsy and a bit nervous because I really like you but it’s been ages since I hooked up with anyone so I’m… ya…”
He chuckled at her. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. We can call it a night,”
“No, I do,” she insisted, closing the gap between them and kissing him.
Surprised by her sudden boldness, he kissed her back thoroughly. The last few weeks she had been driving him crazy thinking they were finally going to take things further and then they didn’t. He really liked her, so he let her take the lead in the pace of their relationship.
“Let’s go inside,” she said suddenly, taking his hand and leading him back into her bedroom, leaving her balcony door wide open.
She brought her arms around his neck and kissed him again, trying to work off his shirt.
Within a few short moments they were both unclothed and making out on her bed.
“You don’t want to shut that door?” he asked her, his mouth on her neck.
“Nah, it’s fine,” she sighed. She didn’t care if anyone heard them. She hoped they would be heard by a certain spikey-haired house guest.
She moaned louder than necessary as he entered her. “Did I hurt you?” he asked.
“No,” she replied, moving her body against him, wanting to get going already, she needed to reach fulfilment and didn’t realize how badly she wanted that release until this moment.
As they fell into a rhythm, Bulma was very vocal and it made Derek feel like he could do no wrong. It was as though their bodies were made for one another. While he hadn’t been with a ton of girls, usually there was a bit of a learning curve the first few times to figure out how each other’s bodies responded. Bulma was very easy to please, apparently, or so he assumed with the way she responded to him.
Bulma, on the other hand, wasn’t necessarily unsatisfied by Derek, but she wasn’t giving him a fair chance and she knew that, she thought guiltily. Here she had a brilliant, smart, dashingly handsome guy practically worshipping her body and all she could think about was Vegeta and if he was around to hear the supposedly amazing sex she was having right now.
“Fuck me,” she cried out.
Derek chuckled at her, amused by the fact that her usual proper demeanour had been completely cast aside and replaced by a foul mouthed minx. He had suspected that beneath her professional and cool exterior that between the sheets she was a bit of a nympho, which was fine by him.
“Alright then,” he said moving his upper torso off of her and leaning away while still buried inside of her. He grabbed both of her legs and brought them together; he crossed her ankles and slung them both over his right shoulder and proceeded to thrust into her harder than before.
“Oh god!” she screamed and meant it that time as he slowly moved into her at a much harder pace.
It didn’t take long after that and Derek finished. Bulma didn’t, but she was the only one who knew that. As far as Derek thought, she had come at least twice.
As he pulled out of her and settled in, he reached for her to hold her but she shrugged him off. “It’s too hot,” she said, kissing him deeply so he would not feel like she was completely giving him the brushoff when in actuality she was only feeling extremely guilty.
She had faked nearly all of it and it bothered her. She hadn’t even given the guy a chance to see if they were compatible between the sheets and her not finishing was all in her head and nothing to do with him; she knew that. She lay there thinking about it for a long time until she heard Derek beginning to snore lightly.
As soon as she knew that he was definitely asleep, she crawled out of bed and went to her balcony, carefully and quietly sliding the door shut behind her.
She walked to the side where she had begun stashing a pack of smokes and began rifling through the basket in search of one. She needed it.
She began to feel frustrated as she couldn’t seem to find them. She knew she’d hidden them well so her mother wouldn’t happen to find them on the odd time she decided to straighten out her room, but she hadn’t thought she’d hidden them quite that well.
“Shit,” she cursed to herself.
“Looking for these?” a deep, smooth as velvet voice that she would have recognized anywhere asked behind her.
She turned around to look at him and saw him dangling her box of smokes mockingly at her.
Bulma scowled at him and aggressively snatched them from his hand. “Give me those,” she grumbled under her breath, opening the pack and taking one out. She’d stashed the lighter inside the box as well.
“When did you start with this?” he asked, nodding once in her direction.
Bulma shrugged. “A little while ago,”
“I hear those disgusting things will kill you,”
“That’s why they call it the cancer stick,” she replied sarcastically, taking a decent drag from her cigarette. “I don’t smoke a lot, just casually every now and again.”
“Hmmn,” he grunted and she knew he didn’t approve. “Like after expending so much effort into an unsatisfying lay like you just did?”
Bulma glared at him wide eyed in embarrassment, unable to form a sentence for a moment before she caught herself. “Shows how much you know,” she replied trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. Now that she had sobered up completely and knew for sure that Vegeta would have heard, she felt embarrassed. “One normally smokes a cigarette after an extremely satisfying lay.”
Vegeta smirked and chuckled at her. “So was all the noise and cursing and shrieking for his benefit to make him feel adequate or was it for mine in a sad attempt to make me jealous?”
Shit! She cursed inwardly. “I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about, Vegeta,” she sighed. “But if your new favourite past time is sneaking around and listening in while I’m hooking up with someone, that’s low and creepy even for you. You should really look into finding a new hobby.”
“Says the woman who purposely leaves her doors and windows wide open so I’m sure anyone still on this compound and living in the vicinity within a ten block radius could hear you carrying on whether they wanted to or not,” he said accusingly, not hiding his disgust at her lack of propriety.
“Don’t judge me!” she snapped. “Go off somewhere and blow something up on some obscure island that won't be missed or go fly laps around the planet. You have options, you don’t have to stay here. Who I fuck and when and how loud I am while I’m being fucked isn’t any of your concern.”
“It is my concern when I live next to your damned room and am disturbed by your exploits and need I remind you that you have a son not far from your room who is at risk of hearing you?”
“Like you give a shit about Trunks,” she scoffed; though she did feel a pang of guilt and embarrassment at the thought that she may have subjected Trunks to that. It hadn’t even crossed her mind. Her only objective had been to hopefully get off this evening and attempt to piss Vegeta off. Unfortunately she hadn’t accomplished either. Vegeta was annoyed, but not for the reasons she had wanted him to be.
Her comment stung and he didn’t reply for a long moment, choosing not to confirm or deny her allegation that he didn’t care for Trunks. “All the same, you should be more mindful of him and quit acting like a hormonally crazed adolescent; you’re better than that. Show some class.”
As much as she hated to admit it, he was right and she did feel ashamed of herself and her conduct. “It won’t happen again,” she said quietly and put out the rest of her cigarette.
Vegeta grunted and said nothing more. A part of him wanted to throw her over his shoulder and take her back to his room to finish what that subpar human hadn’t been able to do. It had been years since they had been together intimately, but he was sure he remembered everything about her body that drove her wild.
“How did you know?” she asked suddenly, taking him out of his thoughts and leaning against the railing on her balcony next to him.
“Know what?”
“That I was kind of faking it a little?” she clarified and she was thankful it was dark outside because she could feel her face burning from embarrassment, but she really wanted to know how he knew.
“Kind of a little?” he snorted, crossing his arms and looking down his nose at her. “Please, you may be the only woman I have bedded but even I can tell the difference between what is real and what is fake.”
Bulma simply nodded and didn’t say anything. What could she say? What she wanted to say was something insulting to him to ease her embarrassment but knew that he would see right through her and call her out on it. Vegeta had been the best sex she’d ever had, despite his inexperience. She didn’t want to tell him that though and give his ego another needless reason to become more inflated than it already was.
“I’m the best you’ve ever had,” he said boldly to her as though he had been able to read her exact thoughts at that very moment. He placed his hands on either side of her in front of the railing, effectively trapping her there. While he was very conscientious to make sure their bodies weren’t actually physically touching, they could both feel the other and she had to consciously resist not leaning back into him but it was hard. It was like he was a magnet and her body wanted nothing more than to cling to him.
“Don’t flatter yourself,” she snorted in reply, though it didn’t come off as convincingly as she would have liked.
“It’s true,” he insisted quietly, leaning in just enough that he was nearly a hairs width away from her and she could feel his body heat even more through her thin, silk robe.
Just that small gesture caused her to shudder in her need for him and the memory of how it had felt to have his body on top of hers, moving flawlessly with her own in a perfect rhythm as they both strove to bring the other to completion.
He resisted the urge to touch her and smirked triumphantly as he could smell the arousal just radiating off of her and took great satisfaction in that. However it was beginning to affect him a lot more than he wanted to admit and he certainly did not want her to know.
Bulma took a deep breath, trying to calm her heart rate; she knew he’d have already noticed and would have taken note of that natural reaction among other biological changes she could feel coming alive within her that she had absolutely no control over. Damn him, she cursed. Damn him to hell!
“You know what, Vegeta,” she addressed him calmly trying to keep her breathing normal.
“Hmmm,” he responded, lightly skimming his nose up the length of her neck. It was the only physical contact he would allow.
“It’s been so long since we were together last, that I can’t even remember if you were the best or not,”
“Hmmmn, liar,” he hissed into her ear in amusement. While very tempting, it was going to take a lot more than that for him to take her up on anything. He wasn’t that weak where she was concerned.
“It’s true,” she insisted.
Vegeta remained silent, unsure of what to say to her. Everything about her was screaming at him to touch her, to finally take her. It would be so easy! He took another deep breath to take in her enticing scent but it was mixed with the scent of the other man still on her skin. It had always been there, but at the moment of his weakness it was a stark reminder that he was treading in very dangerous waters with her and served as effective as a bucket of cold water.
“Maybe I'll have to remedy that some other time,” he finally said to her. “When you don't have the stink of another male all over you,” he added, stepping abruptly away from her.
Bulma whirled around to face him only to find him gone altogether. “Bastard!” she hissed in frustration. She dwelled on what had just taken place for a moment as she lit a second cigarette. God it wasn’t fair how he can just evoke those feelings within me with little to no effort, she lamented to herself. Especially after all this time!
She finished her cigarette before heading back into her bedroom, being sure to shut and lock her balcony door this time before very carefully crawling back into bed so as not to disturb the other occupant.
As she lay there, all she could think of was Vegeta. His hands, his mouth, the feeling of his arms wrapped around her, holding her close; even the way he smelled. She had lied to him outside on the balcony when she’d told him that she couldn’t remember the specifics of their affair. She remembered everything; she remembered it so vividly that it was almost a cruel form of torture and no matter how much she despised him sometimes, she knew she would do just about anything to experience something like that again with him.
She couldn’t remember at which point she had begun touching herself as she thought and reminisced about Vegeta but she hadn’t consciously realized she was until a soft moan escaped from her lips. Shit, she thought to herself, freezing and hoping she hadn’t woken up her partner.
No such luck.
“Are you doing what I think you’re doing?” Derek asked, his voice laced with amusement rather than offense.
“Sorry,” she sighed, not sure if she should feel mortified or sorry for not even caring at all. She truly had no idea what to feel at the moment. The moment that had just taken place between her and Vegeta had been the most meaningful and encouraging exchange in years. While she didn’t want to read too much into it and get hurt all over again, she didn’t want to just brush it off as nothing just in case there was the possibility of something happening between them again. “I’m, I just.. It’s not that you weren’t good, I just-”
“Want more,” he said, rolling over to look at her.
“I, I don’t know what to say,” she said with a sigh, feeling beyond mortified by this point.
“It’s alright, I think it’s kind of hot actually,” he said, cupping her between her legs. “I love a woman who loves sex and isn’t ashamed of it.”
She snorted in amusement. Oh, if you only knew the real reason, she thought guiltily to herself.
“Can I help you or is this strictly a solo mission?” he asked, lightly nipping her shoulder.
She was so turned on from her discussion and interaction with Vegeta, she would have accepted an invitation from just about anyone. In response, Bulma kissed him and reached for him, encouraging him to crawl on top of her.
He entered her without hesitation.
-0-0-0-
Vegeta growled in annoyance as he could hear the muffled sounds of their coupling trough the walls.
At least she’s being quiet about it this time, he thought to himself as he lay in his bed on his back with his forearm across his eyes.
He suddenly smirked to himself in satisfaction at the knowledge that he knew she was thinking of him as that other male fucked her. While a part of him wished it was him doing the honours, another part of him figured it was just as well. Getting involved intimately with her again was just asking for trouble.
However his groin seemed to disagree as he felt himself grow hard again as he thought of Bulma in the throes of passion and it finally occurred to him that it annoyed him that she had taken this man to her bed; and it didn’t annoy him a bit. It annoyed him a whole lot.
He heard her cry out then and he knew that this time she wasn’t faking it.
Vegeta threw back the covers and plodded into his washroom to turn on the shower without waiting for the water to warm up and began to relieve himself as he thought of a certain blue-haired woman and for the first time in a long time, wished that she was his.
Nonsense, he chastised himself harshly. You only feel that way because you caught a whiff of her arousal. Nothing more.
As he pumped at his manhood he recalled that time she had given him oral sex when they had showered together that one time. Oh, now that had been an experience unlike any other. The feeling of her warm, wet mouth sucking on him had nearly had him spent after only a few moments. It had been so unexpected and he had been baffled at her willingness to pleasure him in that way. What had made him finish so quickly was when she had begun touching herself while still pleasuring him orally.
He gasped as he felt his release come quickly at the thought of her doing that to him again.
Vegeta leaned into the tile wall and rested his forehead on his forearm as he slowly pumped his member in an effort to prolong his climax. It had been a long time since he had felt the need to relieve himself in this way, he thought in shame and disgust at his own weakness. It is all the woman’s fault, he told himself as he relaxed and began washing himself.
He had no clue what to do where she was concerned. She had somehow pulled him out of whatever self-loathing funk he had been in. He wasn’t sure how she had done it, but she had and now that he was beginning to get used to the idea of staying here permanently and perhaps building a life with her and the boy, she had found another male to occupy her time and attentions and now that male was using her body in such a way he felt should have been reserved for him and him alone. Mates do not fuck around with others, he told himself before realizing what he had just put together.
Mate. That was how he viewed Bulma he realized then and there with an astute clarity and horror mixed together.
What do I do now, he wondered. If tonight was any indication, he figured she was very much still interested in him but was it strictly for physical reasons or was she sincere?
Last time things had begun moving far too fast for him and he had bolted. She had confessed to having far deeper feelings for him than what he had for her; even now, he could admit that he had grown to care for her and the boy on some level but it wasn't to the degree that she had claimed to feel for him and he wasn’t even sure if he was capable of ever reciprocating those feelings to that level even if he did stay and work at a cooperative union with her.
He had bitten her last time as well, something one only did with someone whom they mean to mark as theirs. He hadn’t realized until now the full significance of it that even back then he had felt strongly towards her. Yes, but she rejected it, he reminded himself bitterly. He had bitten her mid hook up while lost in the moment and she had gotten upset with him. It never had occurred to him that she misunderstood the meaning and depth of the action, he had simply left from embarrassment that he had been so stupid as to have allowed himself to lose his mind and nearly take a weak human female as his mate and life partner.
Until recently, he had been thanking his lucky stars that the biting had put her off. Unfortunately she had already obviously conceived the boy; unknowingly to both of them at the time and so here they were; living in this confused mess that was almost as ridiculous as those idiotic afternoon programs her mother liked to watch obsessively.
Vegeta knew nothing about seducing women but he did know a thing or two about playing on another male’s possible insecurities. He may be a recluse and not know what the current trend on this planet was as far as what women wanted in a man, but he knew that he was most definitely a sight to behold and that Bulma was drawn to him still on a physical level.
Maybe it was time for him to make an appearance and meet this clown she had been out gallivanting with? Tomorrow morning he would do just that, he decided.
Washed and clean, he shut the water off and went back to his own bed, hoping he would fall asleep easily now that he was sated. While definitely not as satisfying, it was good enough.
0-0-0
The next morning, Bulma got up a bit earlier than she thought she would. She hasn’t slept all that well. She kept waking up and thinking about Vegeta.
Derek was still fast asleep she noticed and smiled at him. What are you going to do about him, she asked herself. Sure he was nice and definitely handsome, he was smart, he treated her really well and they had a great time together but she knew ultimately it would never work. If Vegeta had never entered the picture, maybe it would have. Not only was he everything she would have wanted, her parents would have approved and while that wasn’t a deal breaker in her mind, it still did mean a lot to her.
She sighed as she carefully got out of bed and headed out to her balcony again to think about this dilemma. Of course, she groaned. There was Vegeta, shirtless in nothing more than sneakers and those tight training shorts that left nothing to the imagination, meditating and doing katas in the yard and looking nothing less than a Greek god. Next to him was Trunks, though he was in his dark teal gi that had been given to him as a birthday gift from Chi-Chi and Goten. Trunks loved it so much he always wore it for training despite the fact that it annoyed his father to no end.
She watched her son in pride as he carefully mirrored his father’s movements absolutely perfectly.
While she was more than a little confused about what to do about hers and Vegeta’s relationship, this was a reminder to her of how far they had come leaving things strictly platonic between them. It was so good for Trunks that she didn’t want to do anything to ruin that.
“Hey, there you are,” Derek said sleepily, coming outside.
“Hey,” she turned around, startled, walking towards him wanting to head back inside so he wouldn’t see the display out in her yard.
“It’s nice out,” he said, taking her hand and walking towards the rail of her balcony. “Oh wow,” he commented as he saw Vegeta and Trunks work through their morning routine.
“Yea,”
“Is that Trunks’ father?”
“Yea,” she sighed.
“Wow,” he commented.
“Yea,”
“Do they do this every morning?” he asked.
“Most mornings, yes,” she nodded. “Vegeta does. Trunks tries to if he gets up early enough.”
“What happens if he doesn’t get up early enough?”
“Then he doesn’t get to train with his father,” she replied only now realizing how ridiculous that sounded. “He needs to be on time or not bother coming at all.”
“So what are they training for?”
“Nothing,” she shrugged. “Vegeta is always training. It’s what he does.”
“So he’s like a body builder?” he asked in confusion.
“Oh, no,” she shook her head quickly, chuckling. “No, ha! Vegeta would have a fit if he heard you say that. He trains in mixed martial arts mostly,” she wanted to mention that he was in the Cell games but then decided not to. That was not a battle he was proud of and she could just picture him being very displeased should Derek actually speak to him and ask him about it. “If there’s ever another Worlds Martial Arts Tournament again, he’ll probably enter though. Him and Trunks.”
“Do you think he could beat Mr. Satan?” he asked snidely with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh, please,” she snorted. “Trunks could take on Mr. Satan and beat him ten times over. Vegeta going up against him would hardly be fair.”
“He’s that good that you think so, huh?”
“Oh, I know so,” she replied confidently.
“Interesting. Does he take on any students ever?”
“Vegeta? Oh, no,” she answered quickly. “He only trains alone, unless Trunks joins him. Trust me, you don’t want to train with Vegeta.”
“I’ve always had an interest in martial arts myself,” he said casually. “The guy looks amazing and obviously knows what he’s doing. I’d love to train with someone like him. I’d pay him of course.”
“No,” she said firmly, taking him by the arm and leading him back inside. “Look, I don’t want to talk about Vegeta.”
“That’s fair, but if he doesn’t take on pupils and doesn’t compete, what exactly does he do for a living?” he asked in confusion.
Bulma was slightly taken aback by the question and realized she didn’t have an answer. “He trains and he helps look after Trunks.”
“That’s it?” he asked. “Like he doesn’t work or contribute in any way?”
“He’s present in my son’s life and that’s all that matters,” she snapped, beginning to get annoyed as she started putting her housecoat on. “It’s not your concern anyway.”
“True, it isn’t,” he agreed with a frown. “But if this is going somewhere serious between us, then it kind of does concern me,”
“It doesn’t,” she said firmly, turning to face him. “We had this discussion long before we started seeing each other that Vegeta’s place is here for however long he decides to stay. It is not up for debate and whoever I end up with needs to understand and accept that. If you can, great. I really like you and I think we have a lot of fun together but if you can’t then I’m sorry. I have to put my son first.”
“Alright, but this arrangement you both have here isn't normal,” he insisted. “Don’t you care to look at this from my point of view?”
“No, I don’t,” she shook her head. “Because I warned you that my personal life was complicated. I know this arrangement between Vegeta and I isn’t ideal or normal or conventional, I don't need you to point that out to me. But so far it’s working out just fine. We both live under the same roof, we are on civil terms and we parent our son together. It may seem strange from the outside to anyone else looking in but I’m thankful for the way things are and I wouldn’t have it any other way!”
“You’re thankful?”
“Yes, I am. I’m thankful I don’t have to fight and argue over visitation and holidays. I’m thankful I never had to get caught up in some vicious and expensive custody court battle. I’m thankful that both of us are mature enough to put our differences aside and raise Trunks together without using him as a weapon to hurt the other. I’m not going to say it’s always been easy, it took a long time for us to both be able to put the others past offenses on the back burner and find an equal ground so as to not let Trunks see it but I’m thankful that we are both able to do that.”
“And that’s very admirable of you both for being able to do that, I respect you, but it's still not normal,” he insisted calmly.
“I never implied that my personal life was normal. I told you-”
“You never told me that your ex looked like that!”
“Right, so that’s what this is about?” she sighed heavily. “That Vegeta looks like walking temptation?”
“Am I wrong?”
“No. How do you think I ended up becoming a single mother?” she asked jokingly. “Yes, Vegeta is the most gorgeous man I have ever laid eyes on but trust me, it gets old real fast.”
“Are you still attracted to him?”
“That doesn’t matter,” she said.
“It does,”
“Look, what happened between us was nothing more than a fling that only lasted a couple of days. We haven’t been together in years. The last time we hooked up was weeks before I even found out I was pregnant with Trunks,” she told him. “So it doesn’t matter if I’m attracted to him or not, nothing is going on between us and nothing more other than raising our son will ever happen again between us because too much history has gone down.
“Too much shit has happened between us for either of us to be able to come back from it. And it's not just him who’s done spiteful, hurtful things, I’ve also done my fair share of things too that I’m not proud of,” like last night for example, what the fuck was that? She added mentally, now feeling very ashamed of her own conduct. Since the Cell games, Vegeta had not done anything to go out of his way to hurt her. She on the other hand had been nothing but mean and vindictive towards him, even when she wasn’t trying to be, she realized right then. “Vegeta has had a very difficult life up until not long before we met. No, he’s not the model citizen or tenant, he will never win father of the year and he isn’t always the easiest person to get along with but he’s the father of my son and considering his background, I am just thankful every day that he is here. And don’t take that to mean that I let him stay here because of his past or because I feel sorry for him. It’s not about that. It’s about Trunks having his father in his life and that’s it, there’s nothing more to it than that.”
“Alright, sorry,” he said, looking strangely at her. He hadn’t thought she’d get so upset about this. “I didn’t realize how strongly you felt about this.”
Bulma blinked a moment as she tried to figure out who she was trying to convince that there was absolutely no chance of rekindling a romantic relationship with Vegeta. “It’s alright,” she sighed, feeling bad now for going off on him like that. “It just took us both a very long time to get to where we are right now and I won’t let anything potentially ruin it. If you want to be with me then this is something that you need to accept and if you decide that this is way more than what you bargained for, then I understand it and won’t hold it against you should you decide not to stick around.”
Derek nodded, unsure of what to say. “I don’t want to fight with you,” he said. “I had a fantastic evening with you last night and I don’t want to spoil it this morning.”
“I did too,” she admitted. Until a certain sexy asshole Saiyan decided to make an appearance and mess with my head, she added silently. She was going to rip him a new one later on when Derek was gone and Trunks went to bed.
“The only other thing I want to say in my defence before we change the subject altogether is I really like you, but I’ve been down this road before. My ex fiancé claimed she was over her ex when we first got together. She said they’d been broken up for over a year and that she was ready to start dating again. Almost four years in and right before we were going to get married, she left me, claiming that she was still in love with an ex she previously insisted she was over,” he told her honestly and seriously. “Forgive me for being suspicious and just a little overly paranoid. I’m not the type of guy who is possessive or who would forbid you from talking to other guys or being friends with them but you live with your ex and you share a son. That’s major!”
“I understand your concerns, Derek, but honestly, we’re done,” she said quietly.
“See, and that’s what she said,” he replied. “Can you guarantee that you would never drop me for him if he expressed a romantic interest in you?”
No, she answered immediately in her mind and she knew right then without a doubt that this was a mistake. She should not have let things with Derek go this far. It wasn’t fair to him. “I don’t know,” she admitted quietly.
Derek nodded in response and she felt terrible from the hurt look he gave her as he stepped away from her. “That’s all I needed to know,”
“I’m sorry, Derek,” she said, reaching for his hand. “I like you. I like you a lot actually. I think if maybe we had met before I had Trunks or met Vegeta that we’d have been perfect for each other but,”
“It’s alright, I know,” he smiled at her. “You have a whole lot of history there, you both share a son and it would be selfish of me to expect you to forget that. You have a decent solution figured out between you two that no, I don’t understand, but I respect it. Maybe you both will find your way back to each other and if that were to happen I couldn’t expect you to not take it but at the same time, I can’t put myself in a position to be hurt if you aren't sure now and in a few years you go back to him. I can’t go through that again.”
“I know, I’m sorry, Derek,” she said. “When we kind of started seeing each other I thought I was ready to move on, I did. I didn’t mean to play you or lead you on.”
“I know you didn’t,” he said good naturedly, getting dressed. “You warned me over and over again that us seeing each other wasn’t a good idea. It’s not completely your fault. Can we still be friends?”
“Absolutely,” she smiled. “I hope so, anyway. I like working with you and I don’t want it to be awkward at work.”
“Oh, it’s going to be awkward,” he chuckled. “But I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
“Well at least stay for some breakfast?” she offered. “My mom usually makes a killer breakfast on Sunday mornings with steak and eggs and waffles, homemade hash browns, everything.”
“No, that sounds amazing, but I think I’ll pass on that today,” he said. The thought of having breakfast with the father of Bulma’s son after having spent the night with her wasn’t an experience he wanted.
“Alright,” she nodded. She understood that he would probably think it too awkward to stay for breakfast but she didn’t want him to feel like she was kicking him out and he needed to be doing the walk of shame.
They both dressed quickly and quietly and as the moment dragged they both began to feel more and more awkward.
When he was finished getting dressed, Derek smiled at her. “I’ll see you at work tomorrow,” he said.
“Absolutely!” she smiled back even though she felt terrible right now. “Hey, I’m so sorry-”
“Don’t be,” he said walking up to her and cupping her cheek. “At least we figured this out now and not several months or a few years in.”
“True,” she nodded. The fact that Derek was being so nice about the whole thing making her feel even worse than she already did.
With that he left through the front door. As he walked towards his car parked on the street, he managed to catch sight of Vegeta as Trunks was running into the house, presumably for breakfast and the two men made eye contact.
The stern look he got from Vegeta told him that the other man was very well aware of what had happened last night and he couldn’t help but run his hand across the back of his neck as he swore he felt his hair stand on end. Before he looked away, Vegeta smirked at him in what looked like distain before walking away and into the house after his son.
Derek stood there a moment, watching Vegeta leave. The man carried himself with such confidence and walked like he owned the place. He couldn’t help but feel a measure of resentment build towards him as he realized that Vegeta had staged this whole thing. It was as though he’d known that if he’d gotten up bright and early to work out that the other man would pick a fight with Bulma because of his own foolish insecurities; even if those insecurities were solely based on physical appearance.
While Derek was far from insecure and he had a better than average body thanks to his gym trainer and following a healthy diet, one look at Vegeta and he had felt like he was mediocre at best. The man had the body of a god and was pure perfection from what he could see and he could hardly blame Bulma for being attracted to him even after a shady history between them.
He chuckled and shook his head as he walked up to his car and unlocked it. “Well played, sir, well played,” he said to himself as he got in. There was a reason that up until now he had not seen or caught a glimpse of this elusive baby daddy of Bulma’s. She had even mentioned on a few occasions that Vegeta was only seen when he wanted to be seen. Well, this morning he had obviously wanted to be seen and it wasn’t until now that he realized he had done exactly what the other man had anticipated. He had seen him and had felt threatened by his flawless physique.
Derek got into his car and left the compound feeling like he’d made a huge mistake in ending it with Bulma but not knowing what else to do in this complicated situation.
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Thanks for reading guys!!